I couldn't believe this bullshit. All I wanted to do was take Camaro out on the snow-covered balcony so she could go to the bathroom, but no, I had to be stuck here, cleaning up her puppy pads like it was my most favorite thing to do. The second I stepped through the door to the balcony, those two airheads came barging in, barking at me to back away from the door.
I'd thought for a second there might be an actual threat, but when they asked why I'd opened the door and I answered them, that was when all hell broke loose. I was ready to kick Romero in the teeth for how stupid I thought his interpretation of Darren's rules was, but that would have only landed me in more trouble. I was grateful Darren didn't at least undermine me in front of them; that would have been too embarrassing. But the fact that I was being forced to stay here until my lunch before I could go out confirmed who had won that little battle. And that, in and of itself, was fucking embarrassing. I hated being treated like a child, and the more freedom I got, the harder it was to deal with when it was taken away.
Staring at the hands of my new Rolex, I watched the time go by slower than ever. The longer I watched the hands, the more pissed off I became. If Alex and Romero hadn't barged in, I'd be outside already, doing what I wanted to do. Didn't they know I could fuck their world up? I was not someone they wanted on their bad side because I could make their lives hell if I wanted to.
And fuck them. I would.
Until then, I decided to get a little exercise and pulled out the hacky sack Scott had gotten me for Christmas. I bet the asshole didn't even know I knew what the damn thing was in the first place. I plugged in my iPod, turned on some old-school Nelly, and stood in the middle of the room. I dropped the sack to my ankle and immediately started kicking it with the side of my foot, watching it bounce eye level in the air. Back and forth from one foot to the next, I kicked the hacky sack for what felt like hours. It was honestly a fun little game that kept my foot-eye coordination and reflexes intact. I could kick it over my shoulder then back over with the ball of my foot, stall it on my chest, bounce it on my knee, switch feet midair, even scorpion kick the damn thing and have it land on the top of my foot.
Camaro was so engaged; she kept barking and jumping up to catch the sack. I knew if it landed in her mouth, she'd rip it to shreds, so I played Keep-Away for a while. She was fun to play with, and she made the game far more challenging with her running around.
Some time later, my lunch finally came. Romero held the silver tray in his hands as he walked around me still hacking the sack and set the tray on the table. I ignored him as he regarded me still playing and stalled the sack at the top of my chest.
"Well, look at you. You can balance a sack on your tits. That's adorable," he commented.
"Oh, fuck off, Romero," I said, my eyes watching the sack as I pushed my chest forward and kicked it again as it fell toward my foot. I was still pissed at him.
I could feel him walking toward the door, but as he came up next to me, just when I was about to kick the sack midair, he swatted it right out of my path, knocking it to the ground. And that was when I did the smart thing, rechambered my leg, and side kicked him right in the ribs and knocked him on his ass to the floor. Romero fell with a loud thud, his face shocked and confused as his hand wrapped around his side.
"What the fuck!" he shouted from the floor.
"That's what you get for being an asshole all the time!" I shouted.
"How the fuck?" he whispered under his breath as he stared up at me.
I shrugged. "What's the matter? Didn't expect that from a pipsqueak shortcake like me?"
Romero stood, his hand still clutching his side as he glared at me.
"I'll have your outdoor privileges removed," he threatened, his finger pointing at me.
I shook my head at him. "Try it, and I'll have your breathing privileges removed. Go ahead and tell Darren you let me get the drop on you... literally." I smirked.
He snickered, shaking his head and stalked forward toward the door, opening it just enough for him to step through.
"Enjoy the rest of your afternoon. I understand staring out the window is a pastime of yours." And then he slammed the door shut behind him.
Motherfucker!!!
I was not spending the rest of the day locked in this room because of that asshole. He wanted to play games with me? Well, game on, motherfucker.
He was fucking dead.
I charged for the closet to change my clothes and placed my coat, hat, gloves, and Camaro's little coat in a duffel bag and headed into the bathroom, leaving the bag on the counter. Heading back into the bedroom, I calmly ate my lunch, finishing about ninety percent of it and calling it a good effort. Walking back into the bathroom with Camaro in tow, I closed the door and turned on the faucet to the bathtub and began putting on Camaro's coat while it filled.
Once the tub was full, I turned off the faucet and put on my coat, hat, and gloves. Grabbing Camaro, I walked over to the bay window, slid it open and climbed out, jumping a few feet onto the soft padding of the snow. Luckily, no one was around as I placed Camaro on the ground and attached her leash.
Strolling off toward the trees, I wanted to put as much distance between me and that house as possible. I'd probably get in trouble for sneaking off, but I had a feeling those idiots would have it worse, so that made it worth it. Darren said I could go outside after I finished my lunch, and I did that. So as far as I was concerned, I had Darren's permission to go outside. My guards didn't trump him, and it wasn't fair that they thought they could take away something Darren had given me. So fuck them. I wanted them as dead as my freedom was. Besides, it seemed like Darren was trying to sweeten me over a bit, considering this whole trip. He'd ruin it if he brought hell down on me for sneaking away because my guards were assholes. They should have the same standard as a prison if that was going to be the case. Guards were not encouraged to taunt prisoners; it makes them want to do all kinds of bad shit, but if you treat them nicely and with respect, you'll have a much more compliant prisoner.
As we strolled, I kept a good grip on Camaro's leash. We walked for a good half hour before we finally came close to the trees. I'd adhere to some of Darren's rules and stay within my boundaries. I'd have that to barter over later, if it even mattered. A few minutes later, Camaro started barking at something moving around in the snow. And the moment I turned to look at what it was, I slipped on some hidden ice beneath me and crashed to the ground. My hand instantly loosened around the leash, and that was when Camaro took off running into the trees.
"Shit! Camaro, no!" I shouted, clutching my side and running after her. The snow was deep and thick, but Camaro was light enough to run through it while my footsteps sunk deep in the snow, making it difficult to keep up. "Camaro, stop!"
We were deep in the trees now as I tried to catch up to her, running as fast and as hard as I could. If I lost her out here, I didn't know what I would do, but I didn't want to find out. Eventually, she finally stopped at a random tree to bark at the damn critter as it climbed up the tree.
"Camaro!" I yelled, gripping her leash and pulling her to me. "No! Bad!" I yelled as I clutched her to my chest, attempting to catch my breath. She squirmed in my arms for a moment before she finally relaxed and licked my face. I sighed. "Please don't cause any more problems for me. You've done enough already."
I turned my back and headed toward the house, but the sound of a low deep growl had me stopping right in my tracks. I felt my blood freeze in my veins, and my senses went wild as a second growl reverberated through my entire body.
Slowly as possible, I turned my head to the side, and my knees nearly buckled. Behind me was a very large, very angry looking pack of wolves. There were six of them in total, most of them a mixture of gray fur while the alpha displayed a heavy coat blacker than night. Teeth bared, ears back, and eyes directly on me, the alpha of the pack gave every indication it was officially on the hunt. It snarled as Camaro cowered in my arms, and I felt myself stumble back.
"Oh. Fuck."
The alpha wolf approached slowly, that same dark approach I recognized in another predator I knew so well. I could actually smell the death on its hot breath as it came closer. I backed away as slowly as I could, barely able to breathe myself as I kept Camaro tightly in my arms. The remaining wolves snarled and dug their paws into the snow as they advanced with their alpha, reminding me of how outnumbered I was.
Suddenly, I felt more stupid than I ever had in my life. I had no weapon, nothing I could use to fight them off other than my bare hands, and zero backup that usually came equipped with fire power. And here I was, about to die a very horrible, painful death by my favorite animal, all because I wanted to see my asshole guards six feet under. And now, I was about to take their place.
I was such a fucking idiot.
Staying out of the trees as Darren had said suddenly made sense now, but I would have actually heeded his warning better if I had known there were fucking wolves out here! I probably wouldn't have gone outside in the first place! Fuck!
I took another step back, and the growl that left the alpha's mouth had me shaking in fear. I'd never regretted sneaking out more in my life. Taking several steps toward me, its big paws pressing into the frozen ground, my eyes made the mistake of noticing the giant claws that cut through the snow. My heart was ready to beat right out of my chest, right onto a silver platter for the pack to feast on. I wanted to run, but for once, running was definitely not an option. They would rip Camaro and me to shreds. On the bright side, I'd finally be rid of Darren, but I'd also be dead as fuck, so that didn't really help the situation.
For the first time ever, I actually wished Darren were here to help me. And wasn't that the all-consuming thought before I died?
Deciding I wasn't just going to stand here and die, I gently placed Camaro on the ground and loosely tied her leash to one of the belt loops of my coat. If she took off, the other wolves would definitely chase her and then she'd be done for. I kept the tie loose enough so she could get away if I wasn't able to fight them off. Considering it was six against one, I doubted I'd last very long.
Expanding my arms to make myself look bigger, I leaned forward and snarled back at the wolf, hoping my aggression would hinder theirs, but it just made them jump and snarl more. Camaro barked and whined behind my legs, and it only made the pack bark back. Adrenaline rushed through my veins, making my body shake with terror as I strategized internally on how to survive this. I came up with shit.
On its last snarl, the alpha wolf finally took off in a run and leaped into the air, teeth and claws headed straight for my face. Instinctively bringing my arm up, the wolf's teeth latched onto my arm, its jaws clamping down with enough pressure to make my scream cause an avalanche. Pain electrocuted through my forearm as its teeth sunk into my skin, even through the thick barriers of my coat, and no matter how many times I bashed my fist into its head and neck, it never let go. It was going to kill me. I was going to die by a pack of fucking wolves. Fuck.
But the piercing sound of a bullet ripping through the air suddenly silenced everything. The weight of the wolf fell over my body, and the sounds of more shots echoed through the trees quickly followed by the sounds of yelps and crunching snow. Immediately shoving the now dead wolf off me, I watched as blood drained from its side, a bullet wound the size of a golf ball burst from its thick black fur. Its belly rose and deflated several times before it stopped, and a final breath of hot air left its snout.
I clutched my bleeding arm to my chest, hearing the sound of footsteps quickly crunching through the snow, but I couldn't pull my eyes away from the dead wolf. My name echoed in the background, but I couldn't focus on where it was coming from or whose voice it was. All I could do was stare at the dead wolf that had taken my place.
"Jaden!" I heard someone call, and it was only a few seconds more before I was hauled to my feet and shaken back to reality. "What the fuck are you doing out here!?"
My breath caught in my lungs as I looked up at Darren's extremely livid face. I couldn't find my words. His hands were gripping my upper arms, keeping me steady, but it didn't stop my body from shaking in absolute terror.
"Where are your bodyguards?!" he shouted, making me wince, and I tried to focus on forming words.
"I... I don't know," I whispered.
"Look at me," he ordered, but his gloved hands wrapped around my face, tilting my head up and gave me little room to argue. "Are you hurt?" His eyes scanned wildly up and down my body, searching for injuries until he finally saw the blood seeping through my coat.
"My arm," I murmured.
And then two more shots reverberated off the trees, making me jump. Darren remained unfazed, his eyes only focused on my arm.
"Shit," he muttered under his breath as he gently took my arm in his hands. And then he went back to being angry. "Why are you alone? How the fuck did you get out here?" he asked. He was furious. I could feel it coming off his skin and seeping into mine like venom, and I had to fess up to that.
"I s-snuck out," I mumbled quietly before turning my eyes away, unable to take the heat anymore. Fuck, my arm hurt.
"Goddammit," he murmured under his breath and pulled me to his chest. My instinct was to hold him tighter, but I could barely move. My eyes looked up toward his shoulder and came into contact with the rifle strung over his back. And that was when I realized Darren was the one who fired the shot. He'd actually saved my life; something I never thought in a million years would ever happen. What the fuck had I done?
"I'm sorry," I said, my tears now filling my voice as I released my fear through my eyes.
He sighed heavily and then released me.
"I got two more," I heard another voice say in the distance. It must have been Scott. "Lost the rest when they crossed the river." That was when I looked over a noticed two more dead wolves laying in the snow.
"We'll check the area later for more. Right now, I need to get her back. Here, take the dog," Darren commanded, reaching down for Camaro and handing her to Scott after he'd lifted the dead wolf over his shoulder.
"No," I replied quietly in protest. I didn't want to give her up. I was afraid she'd be gone for good.
"Quiet," Darren ordered sternly, shutting me up without argument. "Put Romero and Alex in my office and find their replacements. I'll deal with them after I'm done with this one," he said nodding at me.
I sucked in a breath. I knew I was fucked.
"Come on, we need to take care of your arm. Keep it elevated," Darren said and began to guide me back to the house. My eyes stayed on Scott who carried Camaro in one arm while the dead wolf laid draped over his shoulder, its bloodied tongue hanging from its mouth.
I didn't say a word as Darren nearly dragged me back to the house, his fury so evident I shivered because of it. My tears had dried down my face in frozen rivers, and I had a feeling there would be lots more to come. The pain of what was likely to come was far greater than any wolf bite.
ↈↈↈↈↈↈↈↈↈↈ
Do you think Jaden is in trouble?